How to make a lattice pie crust

Once you have double crust pies down, the next step in pie-making mastery is to learn to do a lattice top crust. Fortunately, lattice crusts are much easier to make than they look. They bake up the same way as an unlatticed crust (so no need to worry that the baking time will change) and give you a sneak peek at what the filling inside that pie is going to be.

First, roll out your pie dough as you would for a regular crust, making a large circle of dough that is slightly larger than the pie plate. Then, take a knife or pizza cutter and slice the crust into 8 or 10 long strips. It doesn’t matter how many strips you make; you can make the lattice with as little as four strips and as many as 20 if you want a very fine lattice. Fewer strips will be easier to work with at first.

Lay one of the strips vertically at the left hand side of the pie. Lay another strip horizontally along the top side of the pie. The horizontal piece will sit on top of the vertical piece.

Fold the horizontal piece back and lay another vertical piece on the pie, to the right of the first vertical piece. Unfold the horizontal piece back into place. It will be underneath the second vertical piece of crust. This is how you create the weave.

Fold back the first vertical piece of crust on the left side of the pie, then lay another horizontal piece and unfold the vertical piece. This newest strip will now be woven into the pie!

From here, it is easy to continue. Alternate adding both horizontal and vertical piece of pie crust, folding strips back as needed to create the weave. There is no need to push any of the pieces together as they will stick as the pie bakes.Try to evenly space the strips over the whole pie, whether you are using 4 strips or 14.

When you run out of pie strips, simply cut off any excess and press the edges into the bottom crust of the pie to seal.

I like to weave the pastry strips on a piece of saran wrap or waxed paper first, then flip the whole thing onto the pie or if the dough’s gotten too warm from handling, give it a chill in the fridge before using it.

You can also twist the lattice pieces as you go to fancy it up a bit. Also, I always damped the crust with water before sealing it or it doesn’t seal right. I love making lattice crust, but sometimes I feel the actual fruit filling dries up a bit because of it – at least with apple pie. I don’t think it would really be a problem with a berry pie.